


keep your soul like a secret in your throat

by partiallyobscure



Category: The Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Body Swap AU, Canon Divergent, David has an opportunity to ✨reflect✨, Flirting, Human Shenanigans, M/M, May turn to an E rating if I’m feeling spicy, Snark, Talking about Feelings™️, ba dum tss, don’t be suspicious don’t be suspicious, freaky friday AU, one shared braincell, vampire shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:02:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28288890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/partiallyobscure/pseuds/partiallyobscure
Summary: Whatever horrors plagued Santa Carla were at least expected, the residents vaguely aware that something wasn’t right with the city. Anyone could be prey at any time and that was the status quo and had been for a good number of years. The vampire gang that stalked the night was accustomed to it, their leader being around the longest and therefore desensitized to whatever weird shit happened around him. Max may have wanted to add to their tight-knit group, but David thought he was handling that pretty well, considering. It was unexpected, but nothing he wasn’t capable of dealing with.Waking up in a body that clearly wasn’t his own, however, was definitely something he hadn’t seen coming.A Freaky Friday/body swap AU.
Relationships: David/Michael Emerson (Lost Boys), light Paul/Marko
Comments: 16
Kudos: 48





	1. and if they get me and the sun goes down

**Author's Note:**

> It’s me, back at it again with the chaos 😎👉🏼👉🏼 This one’s in progress so I don’t even know how it’s going to end yet, so you and I are both along for the ride! I’m a SUCKER for body swaps so I felt compelled to try and see where I could take this lmao. Rating may change, we’ll see!
> 
> Titles from Vampires Will Never Hurt You by My Chemical Romance bc if it doesn’t have an MCR reference, is it _really_ one of my fics? [sweeps a midnight intervention underneath a rug]

“Look, guys, l know the last year hasn't been easy, but I think you're really gonna like living in Santa Carla.”

His mother’s words rang in Michael’s head on a taunting loop as he strolled down the boardwalk with Sam in tow, just trying to avoid the mass of bodies while Sam flitted in and out of the crowd. His younger sibling was loving this – the games, the rides, the shops. Every flashing light and carnival tune only chipped away at his fraying nerves, wishing he could be at home right now working out his muscles instead of his thinning patience. Lucy had insisted they spend their first night out so they could all unwind and, he was sure, she could try and look for a job. They’d always been flat broke and Michael offered to get a job himself more than once, but his mother had always told him to worry about being a kid first, even though he was already eighteen. Still, she’d asked him to watch Sam so she could job hunt. He needed to suck it up and try to have a good time with his brother. 

“Come on, Michael! Everyone’s already heading to the stage,” Sam told him, pulling him along by his arm to see if they could get a closer view. Michael had no idea who was playing; it was probably some local musician he’d never heard of, but Sam was more into music than he was. The younger Emerson was most likely psyched for his first actual concert. They secured a decent spot as the final notes of the sound check rang out from the speakers, the stage lights shining and a bright spotlight cast on the hunkiest man Michael might have ever seen in his life. The bass started and as the first few notes of the saxophone rang out, he noticed Sam’s look out of the corner of his eye, one that suggested this was going to be hilarious. As the man began to croon, however, both boys’ eyebrows raised in surprise, not having expected him to actually be a decent singer. Sam started to get into it, nodding his head to the beat as everyone else had started to do. Michael tried to as well, but he couldn’t shake the distress of how his life had been totally upended, and they were now stuck in his grandfather’s creepy murder cabin in what was apparently the murder capital of the world. He found it a bit difficult to cut loose and enjoy the music as Sam had been able to do, his mind wandering. 

His gaze flickered to the crowd as he caught sight of a group of four young men making their way through, laughing and pushing at each other good-naturedly as they came out from underneath the stage. Their fashion sense was what snagged Michael’s attention first, being nothing like his own but what he might have liked to wear if he had the money to afford it. The two blonds in the back were stirring up the most trouble, shoving each other into people and hollering above the music with their whooping and jeers. The only brunette in their posse looked back at them with an eye roll and a fond smile of his own but stayed out of the chaos while who Michael only assumed was their leader guided them through the sea of faces, almost looking as if he was hunting. The crowd seemed to part for them anyway, anyone who met their eyes immediately looking away nervously. One of the boys in the back snagged a beer from a clearly already intoxicated man and downed the rest of it, expertly avoiding his retaliation in the form of an attempt to grab at him. The shortest of the group caught the man’s arm in his gloved hand before it could make contact, stopping the rest of the boys in their tracks as they all turned around to glare predatorily at the source of the disturbance. The drunk backed off, the expression on his face one of unease and fear as the boys watched him go, similar smirks of amusement present on each of them. Michael watched the whole affair, fascinated at the amount of loyalty and understanding shared between them, and unspoken, at that. He tried to look away before they started through the mass of people again, but wasn’t lucky enough as he locked eyes with the boy in the front, staring at him as if under a trance for longer than should have been comfortable. Michael was only able to break their stare-off when the stranger winked at him, feeling his face warm up as he directed his attention back to the stage. 

When he tried to sneak another glance, he saw the other three leaving the crowd gathered around the stage, the one in back’s oddly-designed jacket being the last thing he saw of them. Michael wasn't sure why he’d been so keen on watching the group, though they were some of the more interesting and aesthetically pleasing faces in the audience. He pushed them out of his mind, tuning into the thumping music once again when he heard a velvety voice breathe right next to his ear, jumping slightly at the sound. 

“You look like you’d rather be anywhere but here,” it teased in a self-satisfied tone, Michael turning to see the source of the teasing. He was greeted with a shock of platinum blond hair and a body clad head to toe in dark leather, all wrapped up in a long, black duster. The leader of the group of boys wasn’t looking at him, but at the stage, a subtle smile on his face that Michael was trying not to read into. He hesitated a moment, turning his focus back on the concert as well, wondering if he should even engage, if he even could with the lump in his throat.

“That obvious, huh?” Michael asked after he cleared it, hearing the boy exhale a low chuckle, the sound pleasing to his ears. 

He knew his company’s eyes were on him once again when he was given an answer. “Not as obvious as your threads. What do you call that, dad chic?” the stranger mused with a raised brow.

Michael looked down at his clothes, suddenly self-conscious, popping out the collar of his jacket. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” he asked, a little offended but curious of someone else’s opinion.

“Nothing, but you’re a little late.” He purposely waited for Michael to fix him with a curious expression before he continued. “Church crowd usually meets in the morning.”

Michael dug his hands into his pockets, trying to stop himself from forming them into fists. “Big talk coming from a guy dressed like he’s ready for the rodeo,” he shot back, hiding his own pompous smile when he saw the stranger glance down at himself. The guy was kind of an ass, but he was easy on the eyes and Michael didn’t have much else to do that he couldn’t snark back a bit.

If his conversational partner was put off by his matched rudeness, he didn’t show it, in fact leaning in a little closer to Michael to be heard over the swelling of the music. “Get you in a nice leather jacket and I’d ride you any day,” he heard intoned in his ear, way too close for comfort, Michael not even processing what was said until after the fact. He turned to face the guy, unsure if he wanted to punch him or maybe something else, but he was gone, Michael looking behind himself and on the other side of Sam, too.

“What’s up?” Sam asked him, looking at him quizzically as the song ended but Michael was off in a flash, Sam struggling to keep up behind him. He broke through the crowd, bumping into people left and right until he reached a more sparse area, glancing around for the mysterious blond. 

Michael caught sight of him as he was hopping up onto his motorcycle not too far away, the three other boys he’d seen with him also already atop their own bikes and seeming to wait for his command. The stranger glanced up, his smirk still present on his face as he revved his bike. “Catch you later,” he lilted, peeling off down the boardwalk, three more trails of dust right behind him until Michael couldn’t hear the roar of their engines any longer. 

Sam watched them go alongside him. “Wow, they were kinda cool,” he said in awe, turning back to look at Michael. “Maybe a little too cool for you, though,” he laughed.

Michael got him in a headlock until Sam begged for mercy, partly because of the quip he’d just made but partly to hide his reddened cheeks, the stranger’s silky voice still playing in his mind. 

———————————————

David was panicking. The other three were laughing at him and he was panicking. He didn’t let his anxiety show for too long, since he had a reputation at stake. A death glare was shot at the trio before they were stifling their giggles. In retrospect, he probably shouldn’t have been so bold, but the mop of curly hair and those soulful fucking eyes had been irresistible and he had been in the mood that night for either a good eating or a good fucking, or both, if he was lucky. He’d ran off, hoping he’d been alluring enough and be able to find the stranger the next night and play with him a bit before sinking his teeth into him, quite literally. The boys had seen the whole thing and he’d gotten a pretty good razzing from them afterward, but that was his game - plant the seeds and see if anything would grow. His friends preferred easy kills, but he’d been around long enough that he wanted a bit more of a challenge from his prey.

He usually prided himself on being unflappable, cool under pressure, had good insight into most things. David definitely hadn’t counted on Max meeting the guy’s mom, falling head over heels in love with her, and coming up with this pointless plan to turn her sons in order to agree to being turned herself. And putting him and the boys in charge of it, no less. David might have been on board if it were any other sucker, but his face fell as Max had told him exactly who the lady’s sons were, realizing the oldest one had been the one he’d shamelessly flirted with. Flirted at, really, since he hadn’t stuck around long enough to see if it had worked or not. “Really, Max? _Them?_ ” David had asked, trying to keep the discomfort out of his voice.

“Yes, David. Them. Your soon-to-be brothers,” Max had ordered and David felt his contempt for his sire grow exponentially more than it already was. “I’ve been looking for a mother for you boys for so long and I’ve finally found one.”

Paul had been the most outspoken of the bunch, laughing and mocking Max for his idea of playing at a happy little family, shutting up immediately when Max threatened to send him back to his old one. David stepped in then, telling Max he would take care of it and leading Paul and the others away before anything happened. He wanted to spill Max’s blood more than anyone, and the boys were all for it, but it wasn’t the right time. Not to mention the fact that he was fairly sure Max could take out every single one of them without hesitation. Any plots to kill Max would need to wait, but hopefully not for too much longer. He’d been given a timeline consisting of ‘get it done as soon as you can’, already reluctantly thinking of how to get the woman’s sons turned as quickly as possible lest he or the others piss Max off. Dwayne caught him before he could stalk away to the secluded side of the hotel to reflect on the night’s events, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You good?” was all he asked, David always admiring him for saying what he needed to in as few words as possible.

David didn’t answer immediately, watching Paul and Marko fight, unable to tell if it was real or another one of their games. They made up just as quickly as when they’d started bickering, David turning away and giving them privacy when Marko grabbed a fistful of Paul’s hair and pulled him close. “Yeah. Looks like we’re getting some fresh meat,” he finally replied, lighting a cigarette and bringing it to his lips, following Dwayne out of the cave onto the moon-drenched beach as the sounds of Marko’s and Paul’s kissing turned more salacious.

—————————————-

Michael spent the next day unpacking, though his mind was in a completely different place than sorting out what should go where in a room that didn’t feel like his own. He got through all of his boxes, not that he had much stuff anyway, but he had found a couple of twenties stuffed in a pocket of a pair of jeans he hadn’t worn in a while. That’d been the highlight of his day and he was already considering what to buy with it as he paced down the boardwalk for the second night in a row, unsure of what had compelled him to come back, trying to convince himself it wasn’t because of the dreamy stranger with the honeyed voice. The boardwalk was a big place and he couldn’t even be sure that they’d ever see each other again. The reminder seemed to put a damper on Michael’s mood until he stumbled across a stand with a number of different jackets on display and some hanging on a rack, going to explore against his better judgement. 

He dug some cash out of his pocket and handed it to the booth’s owner, admiring himself in the mirror one last time before thanking the guy and walking off. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his new black leather jacket, he tried not to think about why he had bought the damn thing in the first place, already feeling his face warm up as he remembered the stranger’s flirtatious words. Without thinking, Michael found himself in front of another booth that was offering ear piercings, remembering how most of the boys had also had their ears pierced as well, sporting a dangling piece of jewellery on one side. He stood there looking at the booth, considering, too lost in his own thoughts to notice that he had attracted company. “Looks like you took my advice,” that same honey-filled voice said next to him, always too close for comfort but never enough for Michael to tell him to back off.

Michael cleared his throat, looking down so he wouldn’t have to see those piercing eyes and the cocky smirk he knew he’d be greeted with. “Yeah, well. New town, new me, or something like that,” he replied, immediately closing his eyes and berating himself mentally for saying something so stupid. 

The stranger chuckled lowly, seeing the inner conflict Michael had just had with himself over his social awkwardness. “You’re new in town, huh? Bit more advice, then: most of these places are a ripoff.” He pointed at the piercing booth with a gloved hand, turning to face Michael with a friendly look in his eye, which seemed odd, on his face. “My friends can pierce your ear for free, if you want. And you should.”

Nodding in agreement, almost transfixed, Michael shook his head to jostle him out of his thoughts. “Um, yeah, sure,” he answered, following the blond as he walked away, coming up next to him. “Listen, about what you said at the concert–“

“You’re wondering if I meant it,” the stranger finished for him, Michael finally meeting his eye as he opened his mouth to try and say otherwise. “I did, but I get the feeling a good old-fashioned traditional guy like you isn’t into casual hookups,” he mused with a shrug. “You did get the jacket though, so who knows?” He smiled over his shoulder at Michael before setting off again, Michael wondering how the hell he should play this.

“What’s your name?” Michael asked him as they fell into step again, figuring he should at least know that before he got any further involved with this guy. 

“David!” a pitchy voice called from nearby, Michael and his guest both glancing over their shoulder to address it. “Are we going or what, man? Night’s still young!”

Michael glanced over at David, committing the name to his memory as he was given a sly glance in return. “Sure, Paul. You guys ready?” he asked as the other three boys were revealed, all starting to mount their bikes as he did, Michael’s parked not too far away. 

The one called Paul nodded far more times than he needed to while the shortest in the group, with the unique jacket, looked Michael up and down. “Who’s your friend?” he asked in a way that made Michael think he didn’t actually care, but was asking anyway. David looked at him expectantly along with the other three, raising his brows.

“I’m Michael,” he answered, feeling like he was being scrutinized between the four pairs of eyes staring at him. They all shared a grin between them, like he’d just told them the correct answer they had been waiting for. 

“This is Dwayne, Paul, and Marko,” David introduced the boys, each giving a nod, a devil horns hand gesture, and a small wave, respectively. “Think you saw them with me last night.”

“Yeah, at the concert. Surprised you guys didn’t get kicked off the boardwalk,” Michael commented with a nervous laugh. 

The four each gave each other a look, almost as if there was an unspoken conversation going on between them, the sight kind of unnerving, in a way. “People tend not to mess with us,” Paul told him proudly, leaning back on his bike. 

“If they know what’s good for them,” Marko added. Michael was actually more scared of him than any of the others, not able to pinpoint why he was so put off by the smallest and youngest-looking of their gang, but he had a feeling Marko knew this, gaze darting away when Marko gave him a toothy smile. 

Dwayne shot a glance at David, who nodded in understanding. “Well, _Michael_ ,” David addressed him, rolling the name on his tongue, immensely enjoying how it sounded. “We were just going to take a nice drive up to Hudson’s Bluff. You in?”

Michael glanced between the four of them, feeling like an outsider in a very tight-knit group under close observation, but he had been invited and the boys actually looked excited at the prospect of a new face joining them. He willed himself not to sound as meek as he felt when he answered. “There’s no way I can beat your bike.”

“You don’t have to,” David told him, but Michael got the impression he was full of shit even as he said it. “Just gotta keep up.” He winked at Michael, the act less flirtatious than last time, more taunting this time. Michael retrieved his own bike, hopping up onto it as the boys waited for him to get ready. “Good luck,” David told him as they all revved their engines, the other three already taking off down the boardwalk. Michael hesitated as he watched David peel off, wondering if he should just go home at the last second, if this was actually a terrible idea. Something in his gut was warning him, telling him to do anything else except follow the group, but he pushed it aside, racing off after them and trying to ignore the looks people were giving him.

Once they’d made it safely onto the beach and away from most of the crowds, Michael leaned forward, pulling ahead of the other boys. He heard whoops of laughter and cheering behind him, a grin forming on his face as the wind whipped past, it falling immediately as he saw David pull up next to him out of his peripheral. David jerked his bike towards Michael, making him swerve out of the way at the last minute, hearing David’s laughter carry through the air as it joined in the boys’ in the background. He did it again, Michael nearly not able to jerk his bike away in time, eyes widening as he tried to straighten out again. He dove towards David once he had his bearings, David expertly avoiding him but shooting him a look of approval as he did so, Michael feeling himself grin despite the danger of what they were doing. “Come on, Michael!” David yelled at him and Michael looked forward, seeing the approaching cliff getting nearer and nearer. His gaze darted to the side, expecting David to slam his brakes on and feeling fear build in his gut when he didn’t, but Michael couldn’t wimp out either in their little game of chicken. He had a feeling it was just the two of them, nothing else mattering or getting his attention other than him and David plummeting towards the drop off, David’s eyes not even on the path in front of them but on Michael instead. Michael glanced at him one final time before skidding off just as his front wheel reached the edge, falling off of his bike onto the dirt below none too gently. Laughter rang out beside him and he looked up from the ground as he saw David dismount his bike, approaching Michael and holding his hand out for him. “Couldn’t keep up, huh?” he asked, low enough for only Michael to hear him. 

Michael took his hand and pulled himself up, waiting a beat before he pulled him in close and brought his fist across David’s face with a sharp left hook, letting go of him after he’d made impact and breathing heavily. “What the hell was that? We could have gotten killed!” Michael yelled at him, only duly aware of the fact that the other three boys were circled around him and poised like they were about to grab him, their laughter ceased and their expressions turned deadly now. Michael didn’t take notice of them, his manic visage focused fully on David and his next move, but David just turned his head slowly to face him, that same fucking infuriating smirk not having been wiped off his face and Michael regretted that the most.

“How far are you willing to go, Michael?” he purred, and Michael was at a loss for words, not wanting to believe that David might have actually provoked him on purpose and _enjoyed_ getting hit. The prospect was enough for Michael to wonder that himself, how far he was willing to go to fit in, to be accepted, or if he could even stop. He stood there, a dumbfounded expression on his face as David looked between the other three, them seeming to relax as he did so. 

“Come on, Mikey. We’ll take you to where the _real_ party is,” Paul told him as he clapped Michael on the back, and that definitely should have been where Michael told them to fuck off and left. He got on top of his bike anyway, watching as David rubbed at his jaw, still with a fond smile on his face.

————————————

Dwayne led the five of them down a sloped dirt path, Michael not even a tiny bit surprised that they’d taken probably the most dangerous spot in Santa Carla and made it their haunt. He’d eyed the numerous warning signs and trespassing notices, curious how they’d been able to avoid drawing suspicion all this time or if the cops just didn’t care. From what he’d seen of them so far, he got the impression that they could go wherever and do whatever they wanted without consequence, and it seemed freeing. It was definitely more appealing than being underneath his mother’s watchful eye all the time. 

The underground cave lit up as Dwayne made the rounds, lighting the oil barrels, and as it seemed to come alive, Michael looked around in awe. It seemed like everything someone his age could ever want, but couldn’t have until he moved out on his own. David was telling him about its history, why it had become condemned and how they’d taken it over. “You guys live here? By yourselves?” he asked, fascinated. 

“Who else would be here?” David asked rhetorically, but Michael carried on with his line of questioning anyway.

“Your parents let you? All of you, just stay out all night?” he asked and got a few laughs in return.

Paul hopped down from the ledge of the fountain, shaking his head as he carried a stack of cassettes that he let fall next to the radio. “Parents? Never heard of ‘em,” he jeered, high-fiving Dwayne as if there was some part of the joke that Michael wasn’t getting. Michael turned to face David, a helpless look on his face that David was sure he could stare at all night, if Michael would let him. 

“We do what we want, Michael. No rules, no consequences,” David told him, looking past his shoulder to address Marko. “Dinner time, Marko. Your turn, your choice,” he told him and Marko stepped out of the shadows with a nod, Michael not even having seen him come in with the rest of them. He ducked as the pigeon Marko had been holding on his arm flew over his head, the flapping from its wings making him jump. Marko departed, Michael vaguely hearing his bike start up from a distance as he watched David take something from Paul’s outstretched hand. “He’ll be back soon. In the meantime, appetizer?” he asked, Michael glancing down to see an expertly-rolled joint between his gloved fingers. Michael hesitated, only having smoked weed once or twice in his freshman year, and his mom was always able to detect when he had. Still, David was looking at him expectantly, as was Paul and Dwayne, and he was an adult now, for god’s sake. He took the joint in hand, fighting the urge to smile when he felt David’s hand pat him on the back. “You’ll like it here,” David affirmed as he dug his lighter out of his pocket, flicking the flame on as Michael held out his hand. Michael was tempted to believe him, bringing the joint to his lips and inhaling.

Marko returned not too long after, carrying a Coca-Cola crate full of various boxes of Chinese takeout. Paul swarmed him immediately, stacking a few of the boxes on each other as he grabbed enough for Dwayne and David, passing them out before rejoining Marko and getting his own portion. Michael lifted his head from looking over the side of the fountain, feeling heavier than he had when he’d first sat down. All four were looking at him with varying amounts of amusement present on their faces until David cleared his throat. “Guests first,” he said, offering the box in an outstretched hand, shaking it invitingly. 

“No thanks,” Michael answered, even though he was a little hungry. He felt odd encroaching on the boys’ supper, but David had offered it and he started to reconsider.

“You don’t like rice? How could a billion Chinese people be wrong, Michael?” David asked him, and from the others’ snickers, Michael knew he’d asked it sarcastically. He was still holding the food out and Michael got the feeling he wouldn’t take no for an answer, though it most likely wasn’t out of hospitality. 

Michael thanked him quietly and they ate in silence for a bit. He looked over to the other boys to see Paul and Dwayne eating out of their boxes with their hands, giving them a strange look. These guys were weird as hell, but their cave was pretty cool and for whatever reason, they were being pretty friendly towards him. He’d worried about trying to find a group he could fit in with when they’d first been told they were moving, but he’d found one pretty quickly, even if they lived underground and ate Chinese food with their hands and played by their own rules. David had asked him something, but he was in his own world, looking up from his half-eaten rice. “Hm?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I said, how are those maggots?” David asked nonchalantly as he dug his chopsticks around without breaking eye contact. When he was greeted with nothing but a blank stare, he chuckled, shoving the sticks into his food as he leaned forward, already too eager to see Michael’s reaction. “Maggots, Michael. You’re eating maggots. How do they taste?” he sneered and there was the outburst he was hoping for, laughing along with his brothers as Michael threw the carton to the ground and nearly retched. The maggots lay strewn across the floor of the cave and David kept the illusion going until Michael calmed down, manipulating his mind to see rice once more as he snatched the box up again, peering inside. He knew messing with the guy’s psyche probably wasn’t doing him any favors in regards to getting on his good side, but he couldn’t help himself. Something about Michael made him all too easy to tease.

 _Good one! Make him think he’s losin’ it – classic._ He heard Paul’s amused unspoken commentary and couldn’t keep the smirk off of his face. The other two agreed, used to using tricks similar to what David had done to pick up their meals whenever they’d feed. David preferred the challenge of getting someone to go along with him all on his own merits, but if he was going to have to change Michael so soon, he might need a bit of extra help from his vampiric abilities. 

_Hope I didn’t ruin your appetite, boys._ David met Michael’s wary gaze as he apologized, trying to sound as genuine as he could despite the fact that he was about to pull the trick again. “Sorry about that. No hard feelings, huh?” he asked innocently, pleased when Michael shook his head softly, like he was still trying to process what he’d just seen and whether it was real or not. He looked down into his own barely-touched carton, poking at it half-heartedly with his chopsticks before shrugging and leaning towards Michael once more. “How about some noodles?” he offered instead, unable to resist twisting Michael’s reality one more time, just for a brief second as he examined David’s dinner.

“They’re worms,” Michael deadpanned, expression unamused as the cave erupted into laughter again. He set the rice down on the fountain next to him harder than he meant to, sending a few bits of it into the air. Whatever was in the joint must have been making him see things, but the bugs looked so realistic, and nothing else around him had changed. David himself had asked about the maggots and Michael wondered if that was real, too - surely he had no way of actually pulling off the miraculous trick. 

David pulled his arm back, gathering a few noodles with his chopsticks. “What do you mean, they’re worms?” he asked, bringing the bite up to his mouth. He vaguely heard Michael’s protest and considered making it look as if he was actually eating worms - he had the stomach for it - but he was sure Michael was already doubting everything he was seeing, so it wasn’t necessary. Tilting his head back as he swallowed the food down and oops, deliberately sticking his tongue out to catch one of the noodles before it fell, David fought the urge to laugh at Michael’s uneasiness. “They’re only noodles, Michael,” he reiterated, gesturing at the forgotten carton next to Michael’s side. “I’d eat up, if I were you. Got a big night planned, you know?”

Michael waited for him to elaborate, but when no explanation came and the cave fell into a silence as the boys ate, he slowly picked up the remainder of his rice and choked it down carefully. It felt and tasted like it should have, and nothing was tickling his throat as he ate it, so he assumed it was a fluke and nothing more. 

Paul was the first to finish his food, tossing the empty container into the fountain along with the other trash. “They give you any fortune cookies, Marko?” he asked, snatching up the crate used to carry all the food inside at the same time. Marko nodded as Paul retrieved them with a grin, passing the handful of treats out amongst the group. “My favorite part! Let’s get wise and shit,” he announced with a clap, effectively breaking his own cookie in his hands. Dwayne let out a snicker as he watched Paul hold it out with a disappointed sigh but fished the paper from the broken remnants anyway. “How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?” he read aloud, looking up as he popped the broken bits into his mouth, taking a moment to consider. “Dude, that’s deep.”

Marko laughed, shaking his head at the drivel. “No it’s not, man. Everyone knows the ocean is endless, like outer space,” he speculated. “How much more space would there be if there were no black holes is a better question.” He and Paul howled with laughter, Michael beginning to think they were way ahead of him in terms of how high they were. He pulled apart his own wrapper as Marko read his own fortune out, squinting as he brought the paper closer. “You have rice stuck in your teeth, it says,” he recited, crumpling the paper up and launching it into the fountain. “More like maggots stuck in your teeth, eh, Michael?” came his teasing follow up, earning a good chuckle from David and Dwayne while Paul wiped tears away from his eyes. 

Michael joined in nervously, a little embarrassed about what happened before, but if laughing about it would make it easier to deal with, he would. While Paul and Marko harassed Dwayne to share his fortune with them, even though he couldn’t seem less interested, he cracked open his cookie and read through it, face scrunching up in confusion as he did so. He was suddenly aware of David’s presence next to him, already holding his own thin piece of wisdom in between his gloved fingers as he looked over Michael’s shoulder to skim the fortune. “That’s weird,” he mused with a frown. Michael looked over curiously, waiting for him to go on. “We have the exact same one.”

Paul was busy trying to shove Marko’s and Dwayne’s cookies at their faces, citing that if they wanted their fortunes to come true, then they had to eat the cookie. Marko deflected him easily, saying he didn’t even have a fortune that he wanted to come true, but Dwayne shrugged and ate his anyway. “Mine said enjoy yourself while you can,” he informed the two as Paul let out a victorious laugh. “Might as well.”

“That’s most ominous,” Marko commented. His attention was diverted when Paul jabbed a thumb over at David and Michael, who had exchanged fortunes with a puzzled look on both of their faces. 

Paul sauntered over to Michael’s other side, plopping down next to him on the fountain as he pushed some of the candles aside. “Whoa, they’re the same! What’re the odds?” he exclaimed as he read over Michael’s shoulder, piquing the interest of Dwayne and Marko. Paul nudged Michael with his elbow, gesturing with his hand towards the cave. “Share with the class, you two,” he prompted with a wild grin. 

Michael looked up, holding David’s fortune, not believing that the words echoed his own. He exchanged a look with David, stifling a nervous gulp in his throat as he started to read. “A journey soon begins, its prize reflected in another’s eyes.” Folding the fortune in half, he glanced at David, raising his brows expectantly.

“When what you see is what you lack, then selfless love will change you back,” David finished, crumpling up his own paper. “What a bunch of bullshit,” came his easy dismissal. He didn’t even know what the wisdom in that was supposed to be.

 _Did you change your fortune to match with Michael?_ Marko taunted, a knowing smirk on his face. 

Paul joined in the inaudible teasing. _That’s so cute!_ echoed in all of the boys’ heads, giggles following it.

 _You got it that bad for him already?_ Dwayne followed up with, and David felt the most betrayal because of him, expecting Dwayne to be above such shenanigans.

 _I didn’t change anything. Just a coincidence,_ David sent back to all of them in a sneer. _I don’t even know what it means._

Their unspoken conversation was suddenly interrupted by a low rumbling, Michael immediately on high alert as it increased. The entirety of the cave started to shake, rattling the endless amount of candles and various decorations adorning the walls and pillars. Michael was rooted to the spot but the other boys yelled and hooted around him, Paul hopping up from his seat beside him to headbang amongst the chaos. Marko egged the earthquake on while Dwayne was looking at the ground, trying to see if a crack was going to split the whole cave open, realizing one of them would probably have to grab for Michael if it did so they could fly out. He heard David’s voice in his head telling him he’d handle it, looking over at their leader with a sly smile. He raised his hands in surrender when David threw an annoyed glance his way.

“Shit!” Michael yelled, narrowly avoiding a large piece of rubble that had fallen from the roof of the cave as he leapt from the fountain. “We-we should leave,” he told David, spinning around to face him as the others seemed to be worryingly complacent with the events currently happening around them. Even David had a grin on his face, enjoying the natural disaster as much as his friends were, but he had to admit that Michael had a point. He stood, just about ready to tell the group to get out when the environment stilled, the shaking dying out almost as suddenly as it had started. Marko was putting out a small fire the candles had caused near the sheer curtains and Dwayne was straightening some of the posters lining the wall, but otherwise, the cave was relatively undisturbed. Paul seemed the most disappointed of the bunch about it.

“Would have thought an earthquake would bury this place,” David commented with a shrug. He glanced over at Michael, who still seemed shaken by the event, noticing his almost-invisible trembling. Taking him by the arm, David sat him back down before the guy’s legs gave out underneath him. “Looks like you could use a stiff one,” came his own form of an attempt to placate, not intending it to be a double entendre but when Michael’s captivating eyes looked up at him, he started to reconsider. Marko appeared behind him then, as if he’d called out for him but Michael hadn’t seen David do so. He whispered something to Marko that Michael couldn’t hear before sitting back down in the wheelchair, giving Michael a bit of room to finally breathe. The night was already so fucking weird that he would be surprised if anything else could faze him, wondering if that was partly due to the joint he’d smoked earlier. He was strangely calm, despite the bugs in his food and the earthquake and the fact that he was about to have a drink with four obvious troublemakers.

Marko held the bottle of what looked like wine with reverence, far too much for what was supposed to only be alcohol. The other boys seemed drawn to the act, forming around him and David, creating a semi-circle with Michael all alone opposite them. They all watched as David popped the top off of the ornately decorated bottle before bringing it to his lips, taking a decently-sized swig and seeming to savor its taste for longer than necessary. Michael was transfixed, watching his throat swallow the liquid as he closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, like it was too strong. He expected to be the last in line to get a turn, but the wine was pushed in his direction, David holding it out in offering. “Drink this, Michael,” he enticed almost dreamily, not even needing to persuade Michael to take the bottle like he thought he might have to. “Be one of us.”

The request struck Michael as odd, but a few sips wouldn’t hurt – might even make him loosen up a bit, especially after the stress of the sudden earthquake. He wasn’t exactly sure what David was wanting him to be - part of their group, most likely, and despite the racing incident, they had made him feel like one of their own. If he didn’t find anyone else in Santa Carla, they seemed like a decent group to run with. Still, he accepted the bottle hesitantly, that gut warning from before that told him he shouldn’t be doing this creeping back up. His fingers brushed against David’s in the process and despite the gloves he was wearing, his touch radiated iciness. The other three started to chant his name, slowly and quietly at first but gaining in volume as he brought the alcohol close, its scent unfamiliar. The encouragement spurred him on and he steeled himself at the last minute, pushing away the overwhelming doubt from his mind as he tipped the bottle up, drinking down a hefty amount. Cheers exploded around him as he swallowed, feeling camaraderie and acceptance from the close-knit group that he now seemed to be a part of. Paul clicked on the stereo and turned the volume knob up so loud that it lightly shook the walls of the cave, similar to how the earthquake had, but Michael found himself grinning instead of feeling any fear like before.

“Bravo!” David commended him, clapping as Marko came up behind him to grip the handles of the wheelchair. “Give me a ride, Marko,” he requested and the two were off, the opening riffs to _Welcome to the Jungle_ being their background score. Dwayne produced a skateboard from seemingly nowhere and was kicking off on it to follow them.

Paul patted him on the back as he nodded approvingly, his wild hair flying as he did so. “You’re one of us now, bud!” he affirmed as Michael took another swig, savoring the unusual taste on his tongue. “Come on, party’s this way!” He took off with the others, pulling Michael along by his jacket sleeve. Michael idly wondered why he’d been left with the whole bottle, but he wasn’t able to complain, already wishing to taste it again and did so. 

The next few hours were the best kind of hazy, Michael only vaguely remembering anything that happened during their time in the hotel. His ear was still a little sore and he knew it was because David had pierced it for him – that much was still fresh in his mind as he played with the coin now dangling from his earlobe. He hadn’t intended to drink so much, feeling his limbs getting heavier and the boys noticed as well, laughing as they helped him sit when he started to sway. One of their voices seemed to echo in his head at one point but Michael had chalked it up to the wine, of which the bottle was now almost empty. His head was spinning, the music dulling everything else around him until he felt a steady hand fall onto his shoulder, the other gripping his knee. David was there kneeling on the ground in front of him and Michael’s already-warm face started to heat up even further as he half-heartedly pushed at David’s arm. “Whoa, you’re not riding me in front of these guys, are you?” he asked, his words slurring most of the question before following it up with a slew of drunken laughter. Paul and Marko joined in as they razzed David, egging him on and telling him that they’d give the two some privacy.

“As much of a treat as that’d be for them, no,” David answered, enjoying an inebriated Michael way more than he probably should. Vampiric blood had its own share of intoxicating influence, coupled with the fact that Michael was under the impression that he’d downed an entire bottle of wine by himself – of course he’d be feeling pretty loose. Still, David had an agenda for the night and it was getting fairly late. “Listen to me,” he commanded gently and Michael did, quieting down immediately as he met David’s gaze, waiting for further instruction. “Time to sober up a little.” Michael’s eyes temporarily glassed over as David’s sway took control, shaking his head lightly as the drunken fog started to clear. David noticed, a smile spreading across his face. “Feeling better?”

Michael stared at the ground like it was the source of his confusion. “Yeah. I guess,” he added as an afterthought, bringing a hand up to run through his curls once before he held his head. “How much did I drink?”

Dwayne fielded that question as David whispered to Paul and Marko. “Just enough,” he answered with an unreadable smile of his own, holding a hand out to help Michael stand on shaky legs. Michael tried not to be distracted by his obvious lack of a shirt underneath his jacket as he pulled himself up, purposefully keeping his eyes off of Dwayne and his perfect physique. How four of the most attractive people in the city had found each other and why they were now wanting Michael to join their group, he would never know. 

“Ready to go?” David was asking him and he tried to jog his memory and recall if any plans were made to go anywhere. Nothing came to mind and Michael shrugged before nodding, starting to fish his keys out of his pocket, but David stopped him with a hand gripping his wrist. “You’d better ride with me. Better safe than sorry, right?” The others scoffed and shook their heads knowingly, enjoying the ruse their leader was putting on for this tanned jock who was none the wiser. They’d asked him if it was mostly to get Michael to join them easier, but didn’t receive a response. Michael agreed and after a few unspoken looks and glares in response, the five set off for their destination.

The railroad trestle wasn’t too far away and the ride there wasn’t half bad, Michael had to admit, though whether it was still the buzz from the wine or the fact that he was on the back of a handsome dude’s bike, he couldn’t say. “Perfect timing,” David announced as he dismounted first and helped Michael down while the others waited nearby, anticipation written all over their faces. He and David led the way with Paul on his left and Dwayne and Marko on David’s right. It was a cool, slightly windy night, the peaceful atmosphere broken by the sounds of their shoes against the gravel and background giggling from the boys. 

David sauntered towards the tracks, hands shoved in his pocket as he leisurely guided their path. Michael looked around, confused as to why they’d come here, of all places. The fog was thick and surrounded the area on either side of the bridge, casting an eerie glow in the late night. He waited a few more moments to see if anyone would pipe up and explain, but when no one offered any insight, he spoke up instead. “What’s going on?”

His question seemed to amuse David, who didn’t meet his eye but instead continued to look at the ground, a knowing smile on his face. “Michael wants to know what’s going on,” he repeated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world yet Michael didn’t know what it was. “Marko,” he addressed and Marko perked up, a devilish grin forming at his name. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Marko answered, leaning into Dwayne as he felt his arm thrown across his shoulders, the taller boy pulling him close. “What’s going on, Paul?” he asked, leaning forward to meet Paul’s eye.

Paul did his best to walk in a straight line, but with a myriad of drugs in his system, it ended up being pretty wobbly. Still, he laughed at the question directed at him, putting his arms up to balance himself on the even ground. “Wait a minute. Who wants to know?” he wondered, half to be a little shit and half because he honestly couldn’t remember.

“Michael wants to know,” Dwayne filled in with a chuckle. He flipped his long hair over his shoulder, watching as Michael played along the best that he could as the banter between them continued, a look of puzzlement evident in his features. He almost felt bad for the guy, not knowing what was being done to him, but they were only acting on orders. 

David finally stopped as they crossed the threshold over the tracks, something they’d done plenty of times before, adrenaline junkies that they all were. “I think we should let Michael know _exactly_ what’s going on,” he declared, turning to face Michael directly as he’d said it. Michael nodded in agreement, eyes full of curiosity and wonder, eyes that David had to tell himself not to get lost in every time they met his own. He moved to stand next to Michael, creating a clear line between him and the remaining three. “Marko?” he asked expectantly, tilting his head lightly.

Used to being the first to drop off since they’d found out he could hold on the longest out of all of them, Marko moved to the edge of one of the bigger gaps in the ground. He glanced between David and Michael before lifting his hand in a little wave. “Goodnight, Michael,” he bid in farewell, looking down before he jumped off. “Bombs away!” his voice echoed, Michael slightly alarmed at what he’d jumped down into, but David was turning his attention on him, fixing him with an excited, toothy smile, so Marko couldn’t have been in too much danger. 

“Bottoms up, man!” Paul followed up, snapping his fingers as he took the plunge as well. Dwayne shot some finger guns at the pair before joining the two blonds. Michael was still in the dark of where they were disappearing off to, having a feeling David still wasn’t about to tell him either. 

“Come with us, Michael,” David told him and Michael knew it wasn’t up for debate. David turned away and cooly dropped off of the tracks to the waiting darkness beneath, the four boys nowhere to be seen, leaving Michael alone. He finally knelt and looked in between the slats, seeing the four dangling from the trestle precariously, but looking like they were having the time of their life. Marko and Paul were kicking at each other, trying to get the other to fall while Dwayne was swinging back and forth from the bars. David was looking back up at him from between his outstretched arms, his mischievous smile making him more alluring with each passing second. “Michael Emerson, come on down!” he called up, giddy with building glee as he watched Michael struggle internally until he finally climbed down as well, dropping right in front of David. He told himself not to look down, no matter what, but his attention floated there anyway and he gulped, no idea of how far the fog went. 

He heard approval from the three boys and felt himself smiling because of it. “Welcome aboard!” one of them called, but he wasn’t sure who it was, catching David’s eye as he readjusted his grip.

“Fun, huh?” David prompted and Michael was inclined to agree. That is, until the tracks started to lightly shake and he heard a faint whistle in the distance. He shot a panicked glance at David, saw the boys behind him light up with excitement as they gripped the railing tighter. David’s gaze darted up as the train got closer, focus back on Michael once the tracks above them started to shake violently. “Hold on!” he warned manically, delighted at Michael’s wide-eyed panic as he gripped the railing above desperately. 

Paul was banging his head wildly, trying to match the rhythm of the beams shaking above all of them. He was the first to let go, Michael nearly losing his grip as he watched helplessly, concern plastered on his face. “Don’t be scared, Michael!” he heard Marko say before he let go with a howl as well. Dwayne was next to follow and soon, it was just him and David, the unrelenting chaos around them paling in comparison to the intensity in David’s expression. 

“You’re one of us now, Michael. Let go!” David yelled at him and Michael was consumed with fear, apprehension, but exhilaration as well. He had no clue whether the other three were alive, if he was being expected to jump to his death, and why he was so willing to take the risk for this guy he’d just met. There had to still be a fair amount of alcohol in his system for him to be thinking that this was a good idea, that he should follow David’s instruction. He stared at David with baited breath, his ears ringing with the sounds directly above them, and then David was sinking into the depths below before Michael could stop him.

“David!” he screeched after him, the top of his blond head disappearing into the fog. If he was granted a response, he didn’t hear it over the roaring train, every nerve of his body overworked and on edge as he remained alone and dangling from the bridge. The train finally ended and he was left alone with his heavy breathing, wondering what the fuck he should do, if he was even capable of pulling himself back up. There was only way to go and that was down – whether or not it was to his death remained to be seen. 

Suddenly, he heard faint shouts from below, egging him on to let go and to join them, telling him not to be scared. Still, he hesitated, looking up one last time until he heard David’s voice clear as day in his head, calling his name and coaxing him to let go, promising he’d be okay. Swallowing nervously, Michael closed his eyes and hoped if he was falling to his death, it’d be quick. He let go of the railing and screamed, feeling the wind whipping up under his jacket as he dropped, feeling as though it was slower than it should have been. His body cut through the fog and as he opened his eyes, he saw the ground approaching and he yelled once more, bracing for impact as he shut them tightly again. Before he could splatter against the pavement, a surprisingly strong pair of arms caught him under his knees and behind his neck, Michael bringing his hands up over his face to hopefully protect it. He was trembling, unsure if he was alive or dead, but when he heard a soft chuckle and a whispered ‘you made it’, he cracked an eye open. David took up his whole line of vision, pale blue eyes glinting in the moonlight and smirking lips looking way softer up close than he could have ever imagined.

An overwhelming urge to wipe that smirk off of his face, to catch him off guard, to thank him for catching his fall all struck Michael and he was craning his neck up, pressing against David’s lips with drunken confidence. Cigarette smoke filled his senses first followed by the feel of stubble on his cheek, a pleasant feeling that he sought more of. David wasn’t expecting that but didn’t pull away, fighting the urge to swipe his tongue across Michael’s as he pressed back. He could hear Michael’s racing heartbeat, taste his lively pulse and wondered how sweet Michael’s blood would be, tempted to let his fangs descend so he could find out. It was only the first night, however, and he couldn’t get carried away and frighten Michael, not when there was a plan to follow. Snogging him probably wasn’t part of it, but Max didn’t need to know. 

When he felt Michael go slack in his arms, David pulled away, letting out an amused snort when Michael’s head rolled back. He couldn’t blame the now half human for being tired. Hearing jeers from behind him, David rolled his eyes and turned to face his friends. “Let’s get him home,” he asserted, holding back a sigh. Much as he wanted to take Michael back to the hotel with them, this was a gradual process.

“Sure you don’t wanna stay with him?” Paul taunted as Marko and Dwayne laughed. “I don’t think he’d say no.”

“We’ll see if he even remembers anything from tonight,” David told them, hoping that if anything, Michael would recall how David felt against his lips.


	2. someone get me to the doctor

Whatever horrors plagued Santa Carla were at least expected, the residents vaguely aware that something wasn’t right with the city. Anyone could be prey at any time and that was the status quo and had been for a good number of years. The vampire gang that stalked the night was accustomed to it, their leader being around the longest and therefore desensitized to whatever weird shit happened around him. Max may have wanted to add to their tight-knit group, but David thought he was handling that pretty well, considering. It was unexpected, but nothing he wasn’t capable of dealing with.

Waking up in a body that clearly wasn’t his own, however, was definitely something he hadn’t seen coming. David knew something was wrong when he woke up way more comfortable than he usually did, surrounded by warmth and soft blankets and with the sun shining on his face. He startled immediately, throwing an arm over his eyes, idly wondering why he wasn’t a pile of ash by now. When he realized he was still alive, he peeked out from behind his arm, except it was very much _not_ his arm. Maybe if he worked out a good number of months, but not the one he should have had. He held it out in front of him, examining the muscles he now somehow possessed, the tan skin that shouldn’t have been possible considering he hadn’t seen the sun in decades. 

Sitting up from the bed, David recognized the leather jacket he was currently wearing – not his own. The white sneakers – wouldn’t be caught alive wearing them. Trying not to panic, he swung his much longer legs over the side, standing uneasily as he tried to get his bearings. Everything pointed to one obvious answer, but he didn’t want to believe it, hoping he was dreaming or high or there was some other explanation besides the fact that he was now in someone else’s body. He stumbled through the open bathroom door, staring at the mirror as he clicked the light on, a barely visible expression of confusion and worry that wasn’t his staring back at him.

He was definitely in Michael’s body. His reflection might have been hazy, but it was clear as day.

The sunlight on his skin was the weirdest thing about all of this, forgetting how nice it felt as it filtered in through the window. David wandered back into what he assumed was Michael’s room, sinking down onto the bed after grabbing the sunglasses off of the dresser and slipping them on above his nose. He was fine in it, but the sudden change still hurt his eyes - or Michael’s, he guessed. He ran a hand through brown curls that were unsurprisingly soft, wondering what the fuck he should do now. Go back to the hotel, probably – Michael was most likely residing in his body. At least, he hoped he was, but if that was the case, he wouldn’t be waking up for a few more hours anyway. 

As he was trying to figure out his next move, movement in the doorway of the bathroom startled him, David looking up just as someone came waltzing into the room. He had to assume it was Michael’s kid brother, struggling to remember his name even though Max had told him to remember it since he was also supposed to be turned. 

“Jeez, you’re finally up,” the youth was snarking under his breath, pulling the blinds on the window open. David tried not to hiss as even more of the sunlight flowed into the dark room, instead trying to imagine how Michael should sound. He could try and let this kid know that he wasn’t actually his sibling, but had a feeling he knew what the reaction would be - disbelief and mocking, and honestly, he probably deserved it _because_ the situation was so unbelievable. The teen was pulling Michael’s phone down from his dresser and pushing it into David’s hands, giving him a weird look as he did so. “Mom’s on the phone. Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors, you weirdo?” he asked with a laugh.

David ignored him as he quickly considered what to do, clearing his throat before picking up the phone. “Uh, hello?” he asked into the receiver and was _that_ a weird experience, hearing Michael voice his own thoughts.

“Michael? Are you still in bed?” a shrill voice asked, David recognizing it from when he and the boys had visited Max’s shop the night before last, before their sire had fallen head over heels in love. He knew Max was trying to show off, that he usually didn’t care if the boys came and went, so something must have changed his mind and whether someone was a human or a vampire, love made people act strangely. 

Wondering how he should play this, since he hadn’t talked to a maternal-like figure in decades, David shrugged and, upon realizing she couldn’t see him doing so, tried to answer without raising suspicion. “I’m talkin’ to you, aren’t I?” he asked, and that was how teenagers who were _actually_ teenagers who matched their correct age talked, right?

Lucy sighed on the other end, exasperation already evident in her tone. “Honey, please. I’ve had a hard enough day already,” she explained wearily, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Listen, can you watch Sam tonight? Max asked me to dinner and I’d really like to go.”

David tilted the sunglasses down, looking Sam over once before he returned them to their spot above his nose. He really needed to get to the cave and get this fiasco figured out, especially before Michael woke up and started freaking out. “He’s old enough to stay on his own, right?” he surmised, remembering being on his own way younger than what he guessed this kid was. Evidently, Sam agreed, yelling loud enough that he was sure his mom could hear about how he didn’t need a babysitter.

“Michael, I know how late you came home last night and now you sleep all day. I’m at work all day and Sam is home by himself. I’ve been easy on you, can’t you just do this one favor for me, please?” Lucy pleaded, David sighing in irritation as he considered it. If he impeded Max’s plans to get Michael’s mom to turn, Max would kill him. Maybe not kill, but David would wish he was dead, never enjoying being on the receiving end of Max’s ire. Not to mention if _Max_ found out about their little switch, how he would handle it.

He would figure this out. He always did. “Fine, I’ll watch him,” David conceded, hearing Sam groan in annoyance as he left the room. He hung up with Michael’s mom after she thanked him, replacing the phone back on the dresser as he mulled over his options. She’d told him to watch Sam that _night_ , but it was only early afternoon, giving him time to get over to the hotel and see if they could fix this before he was stuck watching the kid. Still, it was a few hours until sundown, and he didn’t want to risk waking Michael and having him go out in the sunlight in his body and frying him to a crisp. Michael could sleep for a while longer before David went to get him. Which still gave him a few hours in Michael’s body, to do...what?

A few ideas flitted through David’s mind, some of them innocent, most of them anything but. Mostly, though, he wanted to live. He missed the sun, and the beach, and getting bruised and bleeding after picking a fight, and getting so drunk he couldn’t stand. Michael probably wouldn’t appreciate getting his body back with half a dozen random injuries on it, or a hangover, so going to the beach would have to do. The sun was making him exhausted already, so he didn’t feel up to doing much, but listening to the waves and watching his first real sunset since he’d gotten turned sounded nice. 

Finding Michael’s keys in his pocket, he was glad he’d gotten one of the boys to drop the bike back off at Michael’s place or he would have had to fly over, wondering if Michael was even capable of doing so, only being half. That and flying around during the day would cause some unwanted attention. He headed off towards the beach in the same clothes Michael was wearing, tempted to look through his stuff but also wanting to spend as much time outside as possible before he had to head to the hotel. The beach was fairly empty and he said fuck it and stretched out in the warm sand, not intending to fall asleep but was so relaxed it ended up happening anyway. 

David woke just as the sun was beginning to set, lifting his head and removing the sunglasses as he watched the sun sink into the horizon, a fond smile on his face. He almost dreaded having to go and figure this out with Michael, finding himself wishing in a long time that he was no longer a vampire. He shook those thoughts away as he mounted Michael’s bike, knowing they weren’t helpful, having been able to ignore them up until now. Dusk fell and the colors in the sky started to dissipate as he made his way to the hotel, trying to figure out what he was going to say when Michael woke. Entering the cave was odd in Michael’s body, feeling almost too heavy in it. He took a deep breath before he tried to lift into the air, exhaling in happy surprise when it worked, pleased that at least he’d kept that ability. 

The boys were still asleep, not usually getting up until David did, so he had some time to talk to Michael. As he laid eyes on his own body hanging upside down from the ceiling, he felt an odd sense of disassociation, not having been able to see his reflection in decades. He had a general idea of how he’d looked before he got turned, but forgotten much of it after nearly a hundred years, unsure of how he felt about himself now. Telling himself to stop getting distracted with these feelings and memories bullshit, David wondered if he should just wake Michael up by flying up and appearing in front of his face or carrying him down himself. There wasn’t much time to decide anyway as he watched Michael’s eyes - _his_ own eyes - flutter open, Michael stretching out his arms above his head as he woke. 

“Michael!” David hissed lowly from underneath him, waiting for the inevitable moment of panic that he’d gone through himself. “Listen. Stay calm, okay?”

David watched as Michael went from confusion to realization to shock, gaze turning upwards as he saw himself hanging from the ceiling and the three boys around him doing the same. “What–?” he asked, still half-asleep, frantically looking back down at...himself. “What the hell?” came his somewhat more eloquent demand, but heard David’s voice instead of his own echo in his ears, and that was only half as weird as the fact that he was hanging upside down from the ceiling.

“Come down and we’ll figure this out,” David told him lowly, really not wanting to have to deal with this _and_ the boys at the same time. He loved them, but it would be chaos on top of chaos. 

Gawking at him like he had two heads, Michael threw his arms up in frustration. “Come down?! How? Why am I in your body? Why are you even up here in the first place?” he rattled off and probably would have kept going if David hadn’t interrupted. 

“Just let go and you’ll be fine,” David told him, and wasn’t _that_ a lot of blind trust he was asking Michael to have in him.

Michael confirmed as much, shaking his head in refusal. “Like hell,” he answered. “I don’t do well with heights.”

David tried not to roll his eyes, knowing Michael would have to get over that little fear if he was going to join them. “Trust me, you’re not gonna fall. Here,” he tried, extending both of his arms out in front of him, figuring he’d be able to catch his own body with no issue in Michael’s strong arms. “I’ll catch you.” He saw the internal struggle Michael went through for a second before he closed his eyes and let go of the bar, stifling a yell into his - _David’s_ \- hand as he free-fell through the air, landing in his body’s own waiting arms below. “Michael,” David prompted, and Michael opened his eyes, staring back up at his face, but knowing it wasn’t actually himself. The disconnect was jarring and Michael just stared, dumbfounded as he tried to wake up and process the situation. As David gazed down at his own expression, it felt...wrong, in a way. Michael was scared, and that made _himself_ appear scared, and he knew that’s exactly what his face looked like whenever he pissed Max off and had to deal with the consequences. He felt himself getting worked up and put a stop to that particular line of thought. Helping Michael down, David tossed his pair of boots at him that weren’t sitting too far away. “Get dressed. We got a lot to talk about,” he told Michael, leading them back into the mouth of the cave, this time entirely on land.

“You gonna tell me what the hell’s going on?” Michael demanded, looking like he wasn’t too comfortable in David’s body as he paced. “What’d you do to me? _How_ did you even do it?” 

His tone was too accusatory for David’s liking, but he ignored it, waving a hand in the air. “I didn’t do anything,” he threw back. “Why are you automatically blaming me?”

Michael scoffed, laughing incredulously. “You made me eat maggots last night,” he reminded David, and if that was as much as he remembered, David would be disappointed. “I don’t know how, but it felt way too real to be a joke.” He might have been drunk, but he knew for damn sure that the rice he’d taken a bite of had miraculously turned into maggots, only hoping he hadn’t actually eaten any. “How do I know this isn’t just another trick?”

It was a valid argument, but he couldn’t exactly tell Michael what was going on just yet. He had a plan to do so, one that Michael wouldn’t be able to say no to, and it’d be ruined if he just went ahead and told him now. “It’s not a trick,” David maintained, though he didn’t have much evidence to suggest otherwise. “No offense, but I’d rather be _under_ you than, you know, _in_ you.”

Michael didn’t know what to think of this guy that he’d met literally two nights ago, who had flirted with him every chance he could, nearly cost him his life not once but twice already, and who he had now apparently swapped bodies with. David had trouble written all over him, but despite being fully aware of that, Michael found himself strangely charmed by it. He was pretty much attached to David now until they could get this thing fixed anyway, telling himself he shouldn’t be as eager about that fact as he currently was. “Hearing you say that in my voice is so weird,” Michael deflected nervously, trying to lighten the mood and ease his worries at the same time. “So you’re in my body and I’m in yours,” he concluded, holding up one and then both of his hands as he tried to make sense of it. “What if we just–“ He brought his hands together in a clap, looking up at David expectantly.

“Like a jolt?” David finished for him. Michael nodded as David considered the possibility. “That could work. I’ll go this way, you go that way,” he instructed, pointing in their respective decisions. If this didn’t work, he didn’t have any other ideas, so he prayed to a god that he most assuredly didn’t believe in for a miracle. Michael took off his long duster and David shed his jacket as well, the two of them regarding each other from across the hotel lobby, enough distance between them for both to get a running start. “Ready?” David called and Michael nodded, hoping this wouldn’t hurt too badly. 

They ran full speed at each other, David not used to Michael's longer legs and Michael obviously not handling David’s shorter ones any better. They awkwardly collided in the middle and both boys crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain and over the fact that it hadn’t worked. “Shit, I’m still you,” Michael lamented with a frustrated sigh. David was busy rubbing his arm, landing on it roughly when they’d stumbled back. Michael waited for him to get over the initial pain, leaning back and rolling his eyes when David snapped at him for asking if he needed help up. “Now what?” he asked in a huff when they were both on their feet again.

David bit his tongue, refraining from a snarky comment. It was way harder to handle Michael’s incessant questioning when it was coming out of his own mouth, not finding his face nearly as captivating as Michael’s. “I don’t know,” David conceded, shrugging his shoulders, irritation coating his voice. “Maybe someone cursed us.”

“Cursed? You believe in that crap?” Michael asked skeptically. “What else do you believe in, ghosts? Monsters under your bed? Vampires?” 

David couldn’t help a laugh escaping at that one. Michael was pretty, but he wasn’t especially bright and was about to have his world turned upside down. “Anything’s possible,” he offered with a knowing, hidden smile. “Look, we gotta do _something_. I really don’t wanna have to babysit your kid brother tonight.”

“What? Babysit?” Michael asked, confusion written all over his face.

David nodded, expression utterly disinterested. “Your mom called and said she has a date and needs you - me - to babysit. So I’d really rather get this figured out before I have to watch some brat all night.”

Michael obviously wished he were back in his own body as well, but doubly now that he knew his mom needed him to watch Sam. He couldn’t leave this punk he barely knew to take care of him but if they weren’t able to switch back, there wasn’t much else he could do. “Okay, so what happened last night? Anything weird? I can barely remember.” 

A lot of weird shit happened the previous night, but one thing stood out in particular that wasn’t David’s usual brand of weirdness. “The earthquake that happened right after we got the same fortune,” he proposed. “That was pretty fucking weird, since an earthquake should have buried this place.” 

“Oh yeah, the fortune!” Michael recalled. “The other guys got normal ones, but ours were super cryptic. Maybe they got changed too?”

“Maybe,” David agreed with a thoughtful hum. “We should go back to that Chinese place. They could have some answers.” The sun was already set, so Michael would be safe to go out and hopefully be none the wiser until they were back to themselves.

Michael didn’t share the optimism there, but it’s not like they were coming up with any more promising ideas. They departed the cave, starting up each other’s bikes, at least having been able to switch those back to their rightful owners. David knew the boys would be waking soon, so he hustled the two of them along, leading them to their preferred Chinese spot. The boys never paid for their food, as they didn’t pay for anything else they required either, but Michael didn’t need to know that little tidbit. 

They explained the situation as best as they could without sounding like they were making it up and surprisingly, the kindly gentleman running the joint told them that it was a common occurrence and they’d gotten the same complaint before. Something about the mysterious fortune just made the two people who got the same ones switch bodies, but they were always able to reverse it. All they were told is that the answer lied in the fortune itself and when it came true, all would go back to normal. Michael and David left the restaurant in a huff and rode back to the hotel, clearly not too pleased with the answer they’d been given.

“Shit, do you even _have_ that fortune anymore?” Michael asked, shoving his hands in David’s coat pockets and, coming up empty, tried the pockets of his pants instead. 

David shook his head. “Nope. Ripped mine up and threw it in the fountain.” He met Michael’s glare with a sheepish grin, checking the pockets of Michael’s jacket even though he knew there was probably no way he’d held onto it either.

Pulling the tiny paper out of his left jacket pocket, David’s brows raised in surprise as he looked up at Michael. “Huh, guess I kept mine,” Michael commented with a smug little smile, as if he thought he was their savior. “Read it again.”

The fortune was read aloud again, both boys listening carefully for clues as to how they could remedy the situation. “Selfless love will change you back,” David concluded, tucking the fortune away again for safe keeping. “Okay, that’s easy. Be selfless,” he instructed, looking at Michael expectantly.

Michael rolled his eyes, trying to hide his overwhelming urge to return the comment with sass. “Fine, I’m being selfless,” he narrated, closing his eyes and shrugging defensively. “Are you being selfless?”

David did the same, shutting his eyes as he hugged his arms against himself. “Sure I am,” he answered unconvincingly.

“Well, you’re obviously doing it wrong since I don’t feel any different,” Michael chided, raising his brows defensively as he threw a gloved hand up. 

“So it’s my fault?” David demanded, his now-deeper blue eyes flying open at the accusation. “I got you home last night safe and sound. I’d say that’s pretty damn selfless.”

“Except you _didn’t_ get me home, because I woke up fucking upside down in a cave!” Michael threw back, triggering an argument between the two as they entered the main lobby of the cave, the volume making their voices bounce off of the walls and reverberate. 

The other boys were awake, Paul and Marko lounging back to back on the fountain’s ledge while Dwayne finished lighting the last of the candles. All three looked over at the source of the bickering, none the wiser that their leader and their almost-newest member were in each other’s bodies. “Hey! We were wondering where you went,” Paul greeted, hopping up from the fountain, leaving Marko to hit the ledge with an ‘oof’. “You picked up Mikey, awesome!”

David and Michael shared a panicked glance, knowing that Michael needed to say something in response but he was completely blanking. He wasn’t exactly the charismatic leader that David was, not by a long shot. David elbowed his side anyway, jerking his head towards the group and nonverbally urging Michael to say _something_. “Yeah, I picked up Michael,” he started awkwardly, trying not to feel the anxiety rising as all attention was on him. “The two of us are, uh, definitely here, just like we should be,” he carried on. David had to fight the urge to drop his face into his palm.

“Give us a minute,” David told the others, taking Michael’s arm and dragging him over to the far side of the cave where they hopefully wouldn’t be heard. They watched the pair in confusion, knowing that David already had it bad for this guy but surprised that he was letting him handle himself like that. Exchanging looks between themselves, they shrugged and waited for further instruction, usually relying on David to tell them the itinerary of the night anyway. 

Michael followed after him, blinking in shock as he wasn’t used to being dragged around so easily. David was actually smaller than Michael imagined underneath his coat and his heeled boots. “How was that?” 

David exhaled slowly, evenly. “God awful,” he assessed. “Shit. It’s getting late and we’re nowhere closer to fixing this. Looks like I’m babysitting tonight.”

“You can’t watch my brother,” Michael hissed at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re like, a terrible influence.”

A grin spread across David’s face at the accusation, sending a chill down Michael’s back at the display, not even knowing he was capable of looking that creepy. “Thanks, Michael. That means a lot, but I think I can handle taking care of a kid for a few hours.”

Every instinct in Michael’s body was telling him this was a bad idea, that he needed to watch Sam instead of leaving him in David’s hands, who he’d known for only a few days but was undoubtedly trouble. He knew there was nothing he could do about it either, couldn’t show up at home in a body that wasn’t his own – didn’t want to disappoint his mom, either. Getting himself swapped with someone else would probably land him in some pretty hot water. Hoping he could somehow trust David with this, he finally sighed in weary acceptance. “Fine, just...don’t let anything happen to him, okay? Please, for me.”

It was strange, hearing Michael’s emotion and genuine tone even though it was being said in his own voice. David tried not to let himself show as affected in any way by the plea, maintaining a cool air of indifference after a brief pause. “We’ll be fine, Michael. I’ll come back when he goes to bed and we’ll try to think of something else.” He didn’t sound hopeful, but there wasn’t much else he could try and offer at the moment.

“What about the others? Aren’t you like, the leader or something?” Michael asked, putting air quotes around the descriptor. 

David glanced over his shoulder at his boys, Marko pushing Paul around in the wheelchair at a breakneck speed while Dwayne followed behind them on skateboard, laughter ringing out from all three. He returned his attention to Michael, fighting a fond smile. “Figure it out. They’re easy to trick,” was all the advice he offered, trying to send a test thought through to them, just to see if the telepathic link they shared had followed him over.

He didn’t receive an answer, Paul continuing to jeer at Marko to go faster in the wheelchair, citing that Dwayne was beating them and they couldn’t lose to someone wearing _All-Stars,_ of all things. David hoped that if the boys tried to communicate telepathically that night that they'd leave Michael out of it, even if the thought of Michael suddenly hearing voices in his head without explanation was an amusing one. Michael would be clued in soon enough. He patted Michael twice on the back, wishing him good luck before taking his leave. The other boys watched him go after their race was done, calling out various goodbyes.

Michael cleared his throat, totally alone now with three guys who thought he was their voice of reason, their spokesman. Hearing his own bike start up in the distance before peeling away, he swallowed, unnerved at the fact that all of them were staring at him. “He’ll be back later,” he assured, trying on David’s signature brand of pompous teasing. “Pretty cool guy, right?” So he might have had a bit of an ego.

“I’ll say,” Dwayne answered for the whole group. “You sure couldn’t shut up about him last night.” He flashed a boyish smile at Michael and Michael tried to keep his expression even.

“Yeah, man! He was totally trashed, but I can’t believe he kissed you,” Paul added with a wolf whistle afterwards. “Wonder if he remembers that. Did you ask him?”

Michael stilled, feeling the embarrassment start to rise as the hazy last memory of the night began to clear up. Riding on the back of David’s bike to the tracks, watching them drop down one by one, and then himself, as if he was compelled by some unknown force. Then it was just him and David left, and with the wine in his system telling him it was a good idea, that David really was down there waiting for him, he let go.

“He, uh, kissed me?” Michael repeated, grateful his face wasn’t heating up, finding it odd despite the clear emotional reaction he was having at the moment. Maybe David just naturally ran cold. 

“Don’t you remember?” Marko asked, and there was something in his tone that sounded like slight suspicion. “I sure as hell would have, if he looked like _that._ ” Paul leapt from the wheelchair in protest, the two starting to bicker over whether or not Michael was actually all that attractive. The scene was bizarre to Michael, head still reeling from what he’d apparently done but could still barely recall, and why he’d done it.

Dwayne approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder and Michael broke out of his little trance, needing to look up to meet Dwayne’s eyes. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?” he asked and Michael swallowed nervously, hoping David would be back soon.


	3. will it wash away this jet black feeling

“There you are! You know, when mom told you to watch me, she meant at _home_ ,” Sam greeted David as he entered the Emerson house, stuffing his keys into his pocket and pushing the sunglasses up into his hair. He didn’t acknowledge Sam except to roll his eyes as he passed, hoping he could watch the kid without actually having to talk to him. Max really owed him for having to put up with this shit, even if he was the one who had invited Michael for dinner. His promise to Michael echoed in his head, next to the pounding that had started to develop as he had gotten closer to the house. “You’re lucky I didn’t rat you out,” the whiny voice continued, following David as he paused near the kitchen. 

“Michael!” A sharp, authoritative voice called his attention, stopping him in his tracks as he and Sam turned to face the source. An older gentleman was looking at him expectantly and David felt a little unnerved under his scrutinous gaze. He stared at David for a few more tense seconds, like he could see that he wasn’t actually Michael. “Your ma left you and Sam some money for pizza,” the man finally continued light-heartedly, already gathering up what looked like a stuffed dead dog under his arm and was heading for the door. “Don’t wait up for me, boys,” were his final departing words as the front door opened and shut.

David tried not to sigh in relief as the house quieted again. “Gramps sure is weird, isn’t he?” Sam asked him with a little laugh, shaking his head. When David didn’t answer, instead just stared at him from the doorway to the kitchen, Sam fixed him with a quizzical look. “What, are you too cool to talk to me now? What’s up with you?” he asked, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“You always this needy?” David deadpanned in retaliation, shoving his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the frame. Sam glared at him from halfway up the stairs, his teenage ire unfazing the vampire.

“Not cool, Mike. By the way, lose the leather jacket and the earring – they aren’t working for you,” Sam answered, turning around and stomping up the rest of the stairs. “I’m taking a bath. Order the pizza, okay?” were his final departing words as David heard the door to the bathroom close. He poked at the earring, a little offended, since he’d been the one to actually pierce Michael’s ear last night and even picked out the coin that he thought would suit Michael. He winced as it stung a bit and Dwayne’s voice echoed in his head, telling him to wait a little longer until the blood had settled in Michael’s system so it wouldn’t hurt as much. David wasn’t one for patience, especially not when he set his mind on something and that something involved straddling Michael’s lap, his coat thrown to the side as he tried to steady his hand enough to pierce the safety pin through Michael’s ear without getting too distracted by the blood pumping under the skin of his neck. 

Realizing he’d been daydreaming, David shook himself out of the pleasant memory, trying to ignore how his face felt abnormally warmer and pocketed the money on the counter.

————————————

“Hey, you guys hungry?” Michael asked above the raucous music blaring throughout the cave, perched on David’s wheelchair, finally comfortable after he sprawled one leg over one of the arm rests after fighting with it for ten minutes. There were other places to sit in the cave, but he’d seen David in the chair last night and figured he should go with what was safe to avoid suspicion.

Marko looked up from where he was sewing on the newest swiped patch for his jacket, Paul and Dwayne too busy taking turns throwing darts at the portrait of Jim Morrison. He reached over to turn the volume down slightly, ignoring Paul’s shout of disapproval. “Didn’t you say we had to lay low for a little while because of Max? Eat later than we usually do?” Marko asked, and Michael didn’t understand but he shrugged in response, laughing a bit.

“We need to lay low to go get a burger?” he asked and was returned with three expressions of confusion until Paul broke the silence, a grin on his face.

“Oh, you mean _that_ kind of hungry!” he exclaimed and tossed the dart over his shoulder, perfectly hitting the nose of Jim’s dour appearance. Dwayne couldn’t even be upset, sighing in defeat and collecting the darts up for next time. Paul popped up behind the wheelchair, scaring the shit out of Michael who swore that he had been across the cave a second ago. “Marko went last night, so I can go get us some grub. What are you hungry for, a Mikey-burger?” he teased, the lobby echoing with hysterical laughter. 

Michael joined in nervously, just having been able to take a break from his racing thoughts about David and what happened last night and how besides the kiss, he recalled at least one other time they’d been in close proximity and he’d been able to inhale the mix of cigarette smoke and ocean air. He’d been hungry just a bit ago, but as conflicting thoughts of David started to flare up again, his appetite diminished. 

——————————————-

Every second that passed felt like an eternity to David. He’d tried to find something to amuse him in Michael’s room and found a Walkman, but Michael’s music collection left something to be desired and he just decided to tidy up a bit instead. He’d walked all over the house trying to find a television but found nothing, only a ton of copies of TV Guides which he organized and stacked into a neat little pile. He had even sat cross-legged on the sofa and tried extra hard to be selfless, even going so far as to apologize to the empty living room for messing with Michael’s mind, but nothing worked and David exhaled in frustration. The headache had worsened, the kid’s heartbeat from upstairs pounding through his skull along with a fainter one, confused as to who it was coming from. David sluggishly rose from the sofa and went to look around the kitchen for some aspirin, fully aware that it wouldn’t actually help anything.

Even though it had been almost a century ago, he still remembered how it felt when Max had left him for dead just to change his mind and bring David back so he could keep up his affable façade. Evidently, Max liked to hide in plain sight and felt that David would be good collateral should someone find out about the whole vampire business – he was basically a glorified scapegoat. Max had told him all of this as his insides felt like they were being ripped apart and sewn back together again, the bastard conveniently waiting until the end of his speech to tell David that he would need to make his first kill soon or it’d only get worse. Being the fledgling that he was back then, it was the worst pain he’d ever experienced in his life, grateful it had gone away immediately when he’d sunk his teeth into his first meal as an undead creature. Now, however, the feeling was coming back and there wasn’t a damn thing David could do to stop it. He _wanted_ to, sure, would love nothing more than to go upstairs and treat himself to the waiting meal – Michael’s clueless brother would never see it coming. David could practically taste his blood already, the piercing pain in his stomach making it impossible to focus on anything else except the fact that there was fresh meat but a couple of steps away. He couldn’t, though, not when he’d made a promise to Michael and not when eating one of the sons of the woman Max was interested in would probably ruin his whole plan. 

David had somehow managed to make it halfway up the stairs already before he realized what he was doing, willing himself to stop and turn back around, but he couldn’t. Didn’t want to, for that matter, but he was vaguely aware that he wasn’t really the one in control at the moment. Michael’s body wanted to feed and nothing much would be able to get in the way of that objective. The bloodlust he was currently feeling should have been Michael’s burden to bear, and as excited as he was at the prospect of witnessing Michael’s first kill, he didn’t want to make it _for_ Michael. David wanted to be there and see it for himself, see the look of terror in Michael’s eyes before it gave way to utter bliss as the first drop of blood hit his tongue. He wanted to be the one to lick the last of the blood of Michael’s victim from his lips.

He could hear music playing from behind the door, but it was tinny in comparison to Sam’s pulsating heartbeat ringing in his ears. David was yelling at every instinct in his borrowed body, willing the craving to stop long enough that he could get the hell out of the house, but his hand was already rattling the doorknob to see if it was locked. When the door offered no resistance, he pushed it open, just hoping at this point that he wouldn’t drain Michael’s brother of _all_ of his blood. He saw Sam submerge under the water for a split second before something furry was jumping at him, sending him stumbling back towards the stairs and ultimately losing his footing as he caught the dog just as it closed its teeth down on his hand and tore into his flesh. 

Finally regaining control from the shock of the attack, David stopped himself before he could tumble the rest of the way down the stairs, his bloody hand gripping the railing as he tried to even out his heavy, quick breathing. At least now he knew where the other heartbeat was coming from. He shakily descended the rest of the way, holding his injured hand and grimacing from the pain, not having felt _pain_ in a decade or two. Glancing back up at the bathroom door as he heard it open, David considered what to do. He had to do _something_ , had to have some kind of a plan, he always did. He vaguely heard Sam calling out Michael’s name softly, scared, like he knew it wasn’t really his brother in the shadows downstairs. David stared up at him, frozen. He didn’t have a plan. Why didn’t he have a plan?

Sam’s voice shouting for him was the last thing David heard before he was bolting from the Emerson house, his bike roaring towards the hotel and cutting through the stillness of the night. 

——————————————

Michael wandered around the cave with his hands in his huge coat pockets, idly kicking at larger rocks and broken bottles that littered the ground. It was getting late and David still wasn’t back. His mother’s date had to have ended by now, or at least, he _hoped_ it had. He had no clue who the guy she was seeing was and that made him weary, untrusting of anyone after his deadbeat of a father. Feeling the pain from his nails starting to dig into his palms, Michael cleared his head, shaking the angry thoughts away. Maybe he should have gone out with the guys, but they’d mentioned going out for an evening snack and he wasn’t especially hungry again after they’d had dinner already. The group looked at him funny but shrugged, taking off on their bikes as he waved to them. He hadn’t had much experience playing David, but he liked to think he was doing an okay job of it so far.

He sighed as he lounged in the wheelchair, legs stretched out since it was more comfortable than sitting in it normally. The bottle of wine David had offered him sat nearby, its contents nearly empty. Michael was curious to see if he could place the taste, not that he had much experience with alcohol past whatever his mom kept in the house. Reaching for it and popping the top off, Michael breathed in the scent, nose wrinkling as he was hit with a potent iron rather than the grape flavor he had been expecting. He’d decided to finish off the last sip just as he heard the sound of a bike approaching, quickly capping the bottle again and setting it down hastily, just as David came into view from the mouth of the lobby. Michael’s gaze locked onto the bloody hand he was cradling to his chest, staining the white shirt he was wearing as he panted heavily, expression wide with uncertainty and...fear?

“Michael, we, uh. We gotta talk,” David tried as nonchalantly as he possibly could, ignoring the waver in his voice and hoping Michael would too. He jumped the rest of the way down from the entrance, Michael striding over to meet him in the middle of the cave. 

“What the hell happened?” he asked and David could already hear the anxiety starting to shine through, in his _own_ voice, and he didn’t like the sound of it one bit. “Is Sam okay?” was his next question and there it was, that uncontrolled pitchiness that caused his voice to crack when he panicked, something he’d never been able to shake even when he was no longer human. The sound annoyed him but he brushed it off, exhaling in frustration as he held his other hand up placatingly, cutting Michael off before he could worry himself even more.

“Sam‘s fine, but you could have warned me that you had a _dog_ ,” David snarked, holding his hand again in an effort to stop the bleeding. He looked around the floor of the cave, reaching for one of Paul’s shirts that he’d left lying on the ground and wrapped it around his hand, grimacing as he did so. “Wait, where are the guys?” he asked, looking around the lobby, expecting to have heard Paul’s screechy laughter or the sound of Dwayne’s skateboard scuffing across the rocks. 

Michael gave him a look that suggested David’s priorities weren’t exactly in line with his own at the moment. “They said they were hungry, so they went out,” he explained hastily, reaching for David’s hand to inspect the damage. Leave it to David to hurt himself in Michael’s body the very first night – Michael had been counting on himself to fuck up first. “How did–“

“And you didn’t go with them?” David asked with way more concern than Michael thought necessary, given the situation. “Michael, you’re supposed to be the leader! We never split up when we’re feeding,” David continued, exasperation clear in his voice and he’d meant to say eating, to keep up the charade but he couldn’t hide this from Michael anymore. His reputation in the group was already being threatened and he’d gone and gotten himself hurt because of this, so it was probably time to come clean.

Michael looked confused, letting go of David’s hand as he tried to understand what was going on. “What? Feeding?” he repeated and David groaned in frustration. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, but it’s not like he had much of a choice now. If Michael had a bit more common sense, he probably could have figured it out, but the ever-present empty look in his eyes was one of the reasons David had taken to him so quickly. He wondered if he should have just left Michael alone that first night instead, and then maybe they could have avoided this whole thing. 

That wasn’t what had happened, though, and while David had wanted to introduce Michael to his newfound vampirism in a completely different manner than this, he hoped Michael would still be receptive. “This wasn’t how I pictured this going, but obviously this isn’t getting fixed any time soon, so guess now is as good a time as any,” he began miserably, trudging over to the wheelchair and dropping down onto it dejectedly. Michael followed after him, sitting down on the fountain’s edge and waiting expectantly, and David could have laughed at the irony of their swapped positions if he wasn’t so annoyed by the change in plans. He stared down at the now-bloody shirt covering his hand before looking back up, meeting Michael’s weary expression with his own hardened one. “I’m a vampire, Michael. And so are you.”

Michael stared at his own face, trying to find one of his own telltale signs when he was lying, like a subtle upturn of his upper lip or a twitch of his eyebrow. Nothing indicated that David was joking, however, so Michael broke the tension in the atmosphere with an incredulous breath of laughter. “What? No way,” he dismissed with a scoff and a wave of his gloved hand. “Vampires aren’t real.”

David rolled his eyes, evidently having expected this flippant reaction. “I didn’t think waking up in someone else’s body could actually happen either, but here we are,” he answered curtly. “You’re telling me you think vampires aren’t a possibility when you’re staring yourself in the face right now?” 

That seemed to get through to Michael a bit, but David could tell he was still skeptical about the whole thing, despite waking up upside down and the fact that he probably couldn’t feel his heart beating right now, but David was aware of his own pounding in his ears. He wondered if Michael was that oblivious or if he just accepted those aspects of David’s vampirism as normal parts of him, unsure whether he should be impressed or amused. “This could be a bad trip,” Michael offered as he thought it over, his boyish excitement looking odd using David’s features. “You guys never told me what was in that joint.”

Paul’s joint-rolling skills were top notch, as was his scoring ability, but nothing so strong it would make both him _and_ Michael hallucinate being in each other’s bodies. David shook his head, a wistful sigh escaping from him as he noticed the blood flow beginning to slow. “Nothing you probably haven’t smoked already back in Phoenix,” he mused with a scoff. 

“There! How’d you know I’m from Phoenix? And you knew my last name before I even told you on the bridge,” Michael recalled as he pointed accusingly at David. “Are you, like, a stalker or something?”

David stared at him, trying to conjure up the best and quickest way to get Michael to see the truth that David obviously couldn’t get him to believe with just words. He cleared his head, muscle memory remembering how difficult it had been for him to learn to master telepathic connection with Max, how he wasn’t even sure Michael would be able to initiate it. When he exhaled, he could feel Michael listening, like a blank canvas waiting to be written on.

 _I know a lot of things about you already, Michael._ David waited for the inevitable confusion on Michael’s face followed by slight panic, but he was clearly intrigued, his eyebrows shooting up as he waited to hear David’s voice in his head again. Well, his own voice, but just slightly off that it was enough to be unnerving. _Like how you started lifting weights to channel your aggression, and the name of your first girlfriend, and why you guys broke up._

Michael’s expression hardened at that. David didn’t break their stare, instead choosing to end their mental connection and change the subject, showing Michael what he’d needed to anyway. “Do you believe me now?” he asked, attention temporarily diverted as he winced, pulling off the shirt to examine the damage underneath. He held his hand out for Michael to see, the wound already scabbing over despite the severity of it that he knew Michael had seen when he’d first arrived. “It’s why you woke up upside down, and why you’re probably freezing cold–“

“You turned me into a fucking _vampire_?” Michael yelled, knocking David’s hand aside and pulling him up from his sitting position by his jacket lapel. “And you – you still went and watched my little brother?! Is he okay?” He roughly threw David back down onto the fountain’s ledge, running a hand through his shock-blond hair as he turned away. “Oh god, I have to get home, and if you hurt him–“

David cut him off, grabbing one of his coat’s sleeves and turning him back around so they were face to face. “Michael, he’s fine. I left and came here before I did anything to him,” David relayed to him calmly, stiffly. “And you’re only half right now, until you make your first kill.” 

Michael gaped at him, unbelieving of the words coming out of his own mouth. “My – my what? My first _kill_?” he stammered, blinking rapidly, trying to process the information. David had to be joking, or this was some hazing thing he didn’t understand, or he really _was_ having a bad, extremely prolonged trip. “Are you saying you’re a full vampire? You’ve actually, like, for real killed someone?” Michael’s question was barely above a whisper, hoping David would give it up already and tell him this was all a prank.

“I’m almost a century old. What do _you_ think?” David answered, and this was exactly why he’d wanted to _show_ Michael what he was now rather than _tell_ him. “It’s how we survive.”

“We,” Michael repeated incredulously. “We, as in, you and the other guys.” At David’s nod in affirmation, he exhaled slowly, just now acutely aware that he wasn’t actually inhaling and taking in air, and hadn’t been, hadn’t _needed_ to. He was chillingly reminded of how cold he was underneath David’s layers of clothing, and the conversation with the boys earlier about being hungry, and why hadn’t he _gotten_ it before now? “This is unbelievable. I finally make some friends and they turn out to be a bunch of fucking _vampires_. Who _kill_ people.” His bitter laughter only served to irritate David, the sound only being okay when _he_ did it.

“What, you’d rather we just up and die?” David shot back, feeling the smallest pang of guilt as Michael’s face softened, no panicked retort being thrown at him either. “Look, Michael, it’s not like any of us really _chose_ to be turned. Being a vampire’s got its perks, but it’s pretty grisly, too.” He wouldn’t tell Michael he still didn’t exactly enjoy the taste of human blood after all these years, despite the immediate euphoria every vampire experienced upon ingesting it. 

A question burned in the back of Michael’s mind though he was nervous about the answer. “Why’d you turn me, then? I didn’t get a choice either,” he demanded, evidently missing the flash of hesitation on David’s face as he did so. If Max found out that someone in the family he planned on turning knew what he was trying to do, and that it was _David_ who told them, he might not make it to see the following night. 

David would have loved to tell Michael the truth. That it was Max’s blood in the bottle he drank from, how he would have preferred to get closer to Michael and _then_ convince him to join them, how David wasn’t in the business of just turning every attractive stranger he met on the boardwalk into a vampire. He didn’t know if it would be his salvation or his downfall to tell Michael right here and now what Max’s greater plan was. “It wasn’t my call,” was all he ultimately offered and he knew Michael wasn’t pleased with his answer, but it was all David could tell him. 

“I don’t want to be a vampire, David,” Michael deadpanned. The news wasn’t surprising to David, but he waited for Michael to continue anyway. “I-I can’t _kill_ innocent people so I can stay alive. Please tell me there’s a way to undo it. _Please_.”

David had to get blood into Michael’s body to stop the hunger or kill Max so Michael could be human again. Killing Max seemed unlikely at the moment, but if Michael really didn’t want to be a vampire, and David had a feeling all along that he wouldn’t, maybe Michael could help. “There is a way, but you’re not gonna like it,” he answered before doubling over in pain, a shout escaping from his throat. Michael jumped forward to help him, sitting him back down on the ledge of the fountain. “And we’re gonna need to make it happen soon or this is gonna get a hell of a lot worse,” David gritted through clenched teeth, holding his stomach tightly. 

“You’re not killing anyone in my body,” came Michael’s fairly unsympathetic demand followed quickly by David’s sigh in frustration. 

“I came here to see if there was anything left in the bottle but it looks like you drank it all last night,” David answered, clipped. “No wonder your hunger pangs are so terrible. Never had anyone _down the bottle_ before.”

Michael bristled, wondering exactly how many people had been turned like he had, but decided not to voice the question. “You turned me so it’s only fair that you get to deal with the pain. Unless…” He looked away from David, anxious to even suggest what he might have thought of as a solution.

David fought the urge to smirk at Michael’s hesitance, finding it amusing that he already forgot they could essentially read each other’s minds. “You’re saying you’d be willing to let me drink from you?” he asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice. 

“Would that work?” Michael ventured, not nearly as confident as he had been before.

“It should. Vampires feeding off of other vampires isn’t exactly _common,_ and definitely not sustainable, but it should be fine as a temporary fix. Should be,” David repeated, since he wasn’t exactly sure himself, but Michael had already had Max’s blood, so feeding him some of his own would probably be alright. Probably.

Michael didn’t seem thrilled with the solution, but if it meant David wouldn’t go on a hunting spree of Santa Carla in his body, he’d suck it up. Or, David would, he guessed. “Okay,” he breathed, knowing his heart should have been beating from how nervous he was, finding it disconcerting to feel nothing of the sort. “Okay. Is it gonna hurt?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” David answered slyly. “Just, take off my coat so I can get to your neck easier. And relax, alright?” He placed his hands on either side of Michael’s arms, and god was it strange to be staring himself in the face, leaning in to bite his _own_ neck, feeling how awkwardly his fangs descended rather than the natural way he was used to them dropping in his own mouth. He knew Michael could see the transformation he’d gone through, was most likely shocked to see his own face looking completely different, but David pulled him close in an effort to hide his visage. Nothing was normal about this situation and David could only hope Michael trusted him enough to not suddenly push him away and make a run for it. 

When he felt Michael place an uncertain hand on his back, David finally bit into the waiting flesh below, feeling the initial jump of surprise from Michael as the first rush of blood filled his mouth. He relaxed almost instantly in David’s grip, tilting his head more to the side to give David better access and when Michael opened his eyes again, he knew he was no longer playing at being human, hearing the heartbeat from his own body pounding in his ears, albeit sluggishly. It wasn’t pain he felt as David drank from him, Michael unable to place the sensation but just knowing that he wanted more of it. He froze when he heard a low moan of pleasure in _his_ voice, realizing it came from David rather than himself and he exhaled a breath he knew he didn’t need to, every nerve ending in his body on fire. 

David tried to break their contact and pull away but Michael kept him in place with a firm hand on his back, wanting to continue feeling that rush of warmth as David drank more from him, until David dislodged his fangs despite Michael’s incessant pressing. He breathed a satisfied little laugh against Michael’s neck, his tongue poking out to trace the two pinprick holes that healed almost instantly after, leaving no trace of his meal. “Told you it wouldn’t hurt,” he intoned lowly, Michael not even believing he was able to sound that sultry. Michael was captivated, eyes unable to leave David as he pulled away just enough for Michael to see that his human features had returned, just as Michael’s had when David had finished feeding. They both leaned in, David’s half-human exhaled breath and racing heartbeat the only sounds audible between the two of them before they heard the whooping calls and laughter of the other boys returning from the entrance to the cave. 

David pulled away first, standing quickly and shoving his hands in his pockets. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” he told Michael in a rush, hurrying past the boys and exchanging goodbyes with them just as quickly. Dwayne turned, fixing Michael with a knowing, teasing smile.

“If you wanted us out of the cave so you could put the moves on Michael, you could have just _said_ so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaa I’m so sorry this took so long, gonna try to work on it a little quicker for the next chapter hhhhh


End file.
